Prussia ' onMouseout='HidePop("56295")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Latin">Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
:
Borussia,
Prutenia; ; ; ; ;
Old PrussianPrussian is an extinct Baltic language, once spoken by the inhabitants of Prussia in an area of what later became East Prussia and eastern parts of Pomerelia...
:
Prūsa; ; ) was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. For centuries this state had substantial influence on
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and European history. The last capital of the state of Prussia was
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
The name
Prussia derives from the
Old PrussiansThe Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
, a
BalticThe Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between lower Vistula and upper Daugava and Dnieper rivers on the southeast shore of the Baltic Sea...
people related to the
LithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number slightly over 3 million people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland...
and
LatviansLatvians , the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia, occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
. In the 13th century, "
Old PrussiaPrussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. The former German state of Prussia derived its name from the region.-Prehistory:Parts of the Baltic...
" was conquered by the
Teutonic KnightsThe Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem , or for short the Teutonic Order , is a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed to aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured...
. Their
monastic stateThe State of the Teutonic Order, , also Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights or Ordensstaat , was formed during the Teutonic Knights' conquest of the pagan West-Baltic Old Prussians in the 13th century in 1224 during the Northern Crusades.The Livonian Brothers of the Sword controlling Livonia...
was
GermanizedGermanisation is either the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, or the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
through
immigration from central and western GermanyThis article covers the medieval eastward migrations of Germans. For a general view, see History of German settlement in Eastern EuropeOstsiedlung, literally "settlement in the east", also called German eastward expansion, refers to the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from...
. After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), Prussia was split into two; the western half,
Royal PrussiaRoyal Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Poland from 1466 and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1772. Royal Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . Royal Prussia is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
became part of Poland, while the eastern part, Duchy of Prussia, was established as fief of the Crown of Poland. The union of Brandenburg and Prussia (
Brandenburg-PrussiaBrandenburg-Prussia was a German monarchy established by the personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618.The monarchy was ruled by the branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty that had earlier ruled Brandenburg...
) in 1618 led to the proclamation of the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
in 1701.
Prussia attained its greatest importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century, it became a great European power under the reign of
Frederick the GreatFrederick II was a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
(1740–86). During the 19th century, Chancellor
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
pursued a policy of uniting the German principalities into a "
Lesser GermanyThe Kleindeutsche Lösung was a 19th century political idea postulating the idea of a unified Germany consisting of the members of the German Confederation, led by Hohenzollern Prussia, but excluding the Austrian Empire which was united with Hungary as the Dual Monarchy and not willing to separate...
" which would exclude the
Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
.
The Kingdom of Prussia dominated northern Germany politically, economically, in terms of population, and was the core of the unified
North German ConfederationThe North German Confederation , came into existence in August 1866 as a military alliance of 22 states of northern Germany with the Kingdom of Prussia as the leading state. In July 1867 it was transformed into a federal state...
formed in 1867, which became part of the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
or
Deutsches ReichDeutsches Reich was the official name for Germany from 1871 to 1945 in the German language. The direct literal translation, "German Empire", is used only when describing Germany under Hohenzollern rule . For the entire 1871–1945 period, the English name given for Germany was the partially...
in 1871.
With the end of the
Hohenzollern monarchyThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
in Germany following
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, Prussia became part of the
Weimar RepublicThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government, named after Weimar, the place where the constitutional assembly took place. Its official name was still Deutsches Reich , however...
as a free state in 1919. It effectively lost this status in 1932 following a decree of Reich Chancellor
Franz von Papen' was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933-1934...
(the
PreußenschlagThe Preußenschlag, or "Prussian coup", was one of the major steps towards the destruction of the German Weimar Republic and the rise of Adolf Hitler to power...
); Prussia as a state was abolished
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
by the
NazisNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
in 1934 and
de jureDe jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact"....
by the
Allies of World War IIThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
in 1947.
Since then, the term's relevance has been limited to historical, geographical, or cultural usages. Many people believe that some specific "Prussian virtues" were part of the reasons for the rise of their country, for instance: perfect organization, discipline, sacrifice, rule of law, obedience to authority, reliability, tolerance, honesty,
frugalityFrugal is the practice of# acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and# resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to# achieve a longer term goal.-Strategies for frugality:...
, punctuality, modesty, and diligence.
Symbols
The main
coat of arms of Prussia- Background :The state of Prussia had its origins in the separate lands of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. Brandenburg developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of Hohenzollern in 1415...
, as well as the
flag of PrussiaThe state of Prussia had its origins in the separate lands of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. The Margraviate of Brandenburg developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of Hohenzollern in 1415...
, depicted a
black eagleThe Black Eagle is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus Ictinaetus. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical Asia and hunt mammals and birds, particularly at their nests...
on a white background.
The black and white national colours were already used by the
Teutonic KnightsThe Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem , or for short the Teutonic Order , is a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed to aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured...
and by the Hohenzollern dynasty. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat
embroideredEmbroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
with a black cross with gold insert and black imperial eagle. The combination of the black and white colours with the white and red
HanseaticThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
colours of the free cities
BremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A port city along the river Weser, about south from its mouth on the North Sea, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area...
,
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
, and Lübeck as well as of
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
resulted in the black-white-red commercial flag of the
North German ConfederationThe North German Confederation , came into existence in August 1866 as a military alliance of 22 states of northern Germany with the Kingdom of Prussia as the leading state. In July 1867 it was transformed into a federal state...
, which became the flag of the German Empire in 1871.
Suum cuique"Jedem das Seine" is a German translation of "Suum cuique", the Latin phrase meaning "to each his own". The English idiomatic meaning of "Jedem das Seine" is "to each according to his merits."- Antiquity :...
("to each, his own"), the motto of the
Order of the Black EagleThe Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg...
created by King
Frederick IFrederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union. The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia...
in 1701, was often associated with the whole of Prussia. The
Iron CrossThe Iron Cross was a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813 in Breslau...
, a military decoration created by King
Frederick William IIIFrederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
in 1813, was also widely associated with the country.
Geography and population
Prussia began as a territory, in what was later called East Prussia, which is now divided into the
Warmian-Masurian VoivodeshipWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship is a voivodeship, or province, in north-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...
of Poland, the
Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast , informally called Yantarny kray is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. Population: 968,200 ; ....
exclave of Russia, and the
Klaipėda RegionThe Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...
of Lithuania. Originally the area was much larger, but was greatly reduced by newcomer countries
MasoviaMasovia or Mazovia is a geographic and historic region situated in eastern Poland's Masovian Plain. Its historic capitals include Płock. Contemporary borders of the Masovian Voivodeship do not follow historical boundaries of the region...
and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Much of Prussian
Sudovia-In geography:* Sudovia/Yotvingia, ancient Baltic land inhabited by Sudovians/Yotvingians* Suvalkija, one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania* Suwałki Region, region in Poland near the border with Lithuania-In sport:...
and
YotvingiansYotvingians or Sudovians were a Baltic people with close cultural ties to the Lithuanians and Prussians...
territory was conquered and came to Poland,
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
,
BelarusBelarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mahilyow and Vitebsk...
etc.
The regionPrussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. The former German state of Prussia derived its name from the region.-Prehistory:Parts of the Baltic...
, originally populated by Baltic
Old PrussiansThe Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
who were Christianised, became a preferred location for immigration by (later mainly Protestant)
GermansThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
(
see OstsiedlungThis article covers the medieval eastward migrations of Germans. For a general view, see History of German settlement in Eastern EuropeOstsiedlung, literally "settlement in the east", also called German eastward expansion, refers to the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from...
) as well as
PolesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a Western Slavic ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Poles are sometimes defined as people who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic...
and
LithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number slightly over 3 million people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland...
along border regions.
Before its abolition, the territory of the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
included "Prussia proper" (
WestWest Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
and
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
),
BrandenburgThe Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. Its capital was originally Potsdam, before moving to Berlin in 1827, then back to Potsdam in 1843 and finally in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 1918.-History:The province of Brandenburg...
, the
Province of SaxonyThe Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
(including most of the present-day state of
Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt is one of the sixteen Bundesländer that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of , and a population of 2.45 million...
and parts of the state of
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen
Bundesländer...
in Germany),
PomeraniaThe Province of Pomerania was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 until 1946. Since then it has been part of Germany and Poland....
,
RhinelandThe Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia and the Rhineland , was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Empire, from 1822-1946.-Origins and boundaries:...
,
WestphaliaThe Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815-1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807-13...
,
SilesiaThe Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919; the territory had been conquered from Habsburg Austria during the 18th century Silesian Wars. The provincial capital was Breslau. During the Weimar Republic, in 1919, Silesia was divided into the separate provinces...
(without
Austrian SilesiaCzech Silesia is one of the three Czech lands and a section of the Silesian historical region. It is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic, predominantly in Moravian-Silesian Region, with a section in northern Olomouc Region...
),
LusatiaLusatia is a historical region between the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers and the Elbe river in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg and south-western Poland ....
,
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
,
HanoverThe Province of Hanover was at various times a principality within the Holy Roman Empire, an Electorate within the same, an independent Kingdom, and a subordinate province within the Kingdom of Prussia. The territory was named after its capital, the city of Hanover, which was the principal town of...
,
Hesse-NassauThe Province of Hesse-Nassau was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868-1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944....
, and a small detached area in the south
HohenzollernHohenzollern was a de facto province of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was created in 1850 by joining the principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen after both formerly independent states had handed over their sovereignty to Prussia, ruled by the Protestant branch of the...
, the ancestral home of the Prussian ruling family.
In 1871, Prussia's population numbered 24.69 million, accounting for 60% of the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
's population. In 1910, the population had increased to a number of 40.17 million (62% of the Empire's population). In 1914, Prussia had an area of 354,490 km². In May 1939 Prussia had an area of 297,007 km² and a population of 41,915,040 inhabitants. The Principality of Neuenburg, now the
Canton of NeuchâtelNeuchâtel is a canton of western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 are foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
, was a part of the Prussian kingdom from 1707 to 1848.
Although Prussia was dominated by
Protestant GermansProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
it contained millions of Catholics, and millions of minorities, particularly Poles. East Prussia's southern region of
MasuriaMasuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous today for its 2000 lakes.In the 11th-13th century, the territory was inhabited by the Old Prussians, also called Baltic Prussians, an Baltic ethnic group that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern coastal region of the Baltic Sea, in the...
was largely made up of Germanised Protestant Masurs. There were substantial
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
populations in the Rhineland and parts of Westphalia. Also West Prussia,
WarmiaWarmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerania and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....
,
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
, and the
Province of PosenThe Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
had predominantly Catholic populations. The Kingdom of Prussia acquired these areas from countries with a Catholic majority: the
Kingdom of PolandThe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The new Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe....
and the
Austrian EmpireThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The capital was mainly Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when the capital was Prague...
.
In 1871, approximately 2.4 million Poles lived in Prussia, constituting the largest minority. Other minorities were
DanesDanish people are a nation and ethnic group native to Denmark, who speak Danish. This includes people with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity, whether living in Denmark, emigrants, or the descendants of emigrants, eg: the Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, a former Danish province.The...
,
FrisiansThe Frisians are an ethnic group of Germanic people living in coastal parts of The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
,
KashubiansKashubians/Kaszubians , also called Kashubs, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavic ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland. Their settlement area is referred to as Kashubia ....
(72,500 in 1905), Masurians (248,000 in 1905),
LithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number slightly over 3 million people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland...
(101,500 in 1905),
WalloonesWalloons are a Romance-speaking people partly from Germanic origin and Celtic origin; in any case a melting-pot speaking French, living in Belgium principally in Wallonia, more generally the inhabitants of Wallonia...
, Czechs and
SorbsSorbs also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland.Sorbs are divided into two groups:...
.
The area of
Greater PolandGreater Poland or Great Poland, Polish Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań...
where the Polish nation had originated became the Province of Posen after the
Partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
. Poles in this Polish-majority province (62% Polish, 38% German) resisted German rule. Also, the southeast portion of Silesia (
Upper SilesiaUpper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Lower Silesia is to the northwest. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, Bohemia, Poland, Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Prussia, and later of unified German Reich...
) had a majority percentage of Polish population. But Catholics, ethnic Poles and other Slavs, and Jews didn't have equal status with Protestants.
As a result of the
Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
in 1919 the
Second Polish RepublicThe Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; from the creation of an independent Polish state in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic,...
was granted these two areas, but also areas with a German majority in the Province of West Prussia. After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, East Prussia, Silesia, most of Pomerania, and part of Brandenburg were taken over by either the Soviet Union or Poland.
Early history
In 1211
Andrew II of HungaryAndrew II the Jerosolimitan , King of Hungary. He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
granted the Burzenland (
fiefdomUnder the system of medieval European feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord, generally to a vassal, in return for a form of allegiance, originally to give him the means to fulfill his military...
) to the Teutonic Knights. In 1225, Andrew II expelled the Teutonic Knights from Transylvania, and they had to transfer to the Baltic Sea.
In 1226 Duke
Konrad IKonrad I of Masovia , son of Casimir II and Helen of Moravia, was the 6th Duke of Masovia.After his father's death in 1194, Konrad was brought up by his mother. In 1199 he received Masovia and in 1202, Kuyavia. In 1205, he and his brother, Leszek I the White, had their greatest military victory at...
of
MasoviaMasovia or Mazovia is a geographic and historic region situated in eastern Poland's Masovian Plain. Its historic capitals include Płock. Contemporary borders of the Masovian Voivodeship do not follow historical boundaries of the region...
invited the
Teutonic KnightsThe Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem , or for short the Teutonic Order , is a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed to aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured...
, a German
military orderA military order is a Christian order of knighthood that is founded for crusading, i.e. propagating and/or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe, but many became secularized later.-History:Catholic military orders appeared following the...
of
crusadingThe Crusades were a series of religiously-sanctioned military campaigns waged by much of Latin Christian Europe, particularly the Franks of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The specific crusades to restore Christian control of the Holy Land were fought over a period of nearly 200 years, between...
knights, headquartered in the
Kingdom of JerusalemThe Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. It lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks....
at
AcreAcre also Akko, is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel. It is situated on a low promontory at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , Acre had a population of 46,000 at the end of 2007...
, to conquer the Baltic
Prussian tribesThe Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
on his borders. During 60 years of struggles against the Old Prussians, the order created an
independent stateThe State of the Teutonic Order, , also Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights or Ordensstaat , was formed during the Teutonic Knights' conquest of the pagan West-Baltic Old Prussians in the 13th century in 1224 during the Northern Crusades.The Livonian Brothers of the Sword controlling Livonia...
which came to control
the Old Prussian regionPrussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. The former German state of Prussia derived its name from the region.-Prehistory:Parts of the Baltic...
. After the
Livonian Brothers of the SwordBishop Albert of Riga founded the military order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202; Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...
joined the Teutonic Order in 1237 they also controlled
LivoniaLivonia was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
(now
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
and
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
) and western
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
.
In the course of the
OstsiedlungThis article covers the medieval eastward migrations of Germans. For a general view, see History of German settlement in Eastern EuropeOstsiedlung, literally "settlement in the east", also called German eastward expansion, refers to the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from...
process, settlers were called in, a majority of which were
GermansThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
. This brought about changes in the ethnic composition as well as in language, culture and law.
Low GermanLow German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands.-Geographical extent:-Low German in Europe:Dialects...
became the dominant language.
The Knights were subordinate only to the
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
and the
emperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
. Their initially close relationship with the Polish Crown deteriorated completely after they conquered Polish-claimed
PomereliaPomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia was situated in eastern Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
and
Danzig (Gdańsk)Gdańsk, also known by its German name Danzig , is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area....
, a town mainly populated by German settlers. The Knights were eventually defeated in the
Battle of GrunwaldThe Battle of Grunwald took place on July 15, 1410 with the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by the king Jogaila , ranged against the knights of the Teutonic Order, led by the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen...
in 1410 by Poland and Lithuania, allied through the
Union of KrewoThe Union of Krewo, also known as Krėva Act was a set of promises of Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania for marriage between him and the underage reigning Queen Jadwiga of Poland. Through this marriage a personal or dynastic union between Poland and Lithuania was created...
.
The
Thirteen Years' WarThe Thirteen Years' War was also the name of an Austrian-Ottoman War: Thirteen Years War in HungaryThe Thirteen Years' War , also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict that was fought in 1454–66 between the Prussian Confederation, allied with the Kingdom of Poland, and the monastic state of...
(1454–1466) began when the
Prussian ConfederationThe Prussian Confederation was an organization formed in 1440 by a group of 53 gentry and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia to oppose the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights.-Background:...
, a coalition of
HanseaticThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
cities of western Prussia, rebelled against the Order and requested help from the Polish king. The Teutonic Knights were forced to acknowledge the sovereignty and pay tribute to King
Casimir IV JagiellonCasimir IV Jagiellon of the Jagiellon dynasty, was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death....
of Poland in the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), losing western Prussia (
Royal PrussiaRoyal Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Poland from 1466 and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1772. Royal Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . Royal Prussia is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
) to Poland in the process.
In 1525, Grand Master
Albert of Brandenburg-AnsbachAlbert was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia, which was the first state to adopt the Lutheran faith and Protestantism as the official state religion...
, a member of a cadet branch of the
House of HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
, became a
LutheranLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the 16th century German reformer Martin Luther. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
Protestant and secularised the Order's remaining Prussian territories into the Duchy of Prussia. This was the area east of the mouth of the
VistulaThe Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is 194,424 km² , of which 168,699 km² The Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km (651 miles) in...
River, later sometimes called "Prussia proper". For the first time, these lands were in the hands of a branch of the Hohenzollern family, rulers of the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
to the west, a German state centered on
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and ruled since the 15th century by the Hohenzollern dynasty. Furthermore, with his renunciation of the Order, Albert could now marry and produce offspring.
Brandenburg and Prussia were unified two generations later. Anna, granddaughter of Albert I and daughter of Duke
Albert FrederickAlbert Frederick was duke of Prussia from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the second and last Prussian duke of the Ansbach branch of the Hohenzollern family. He exhibited signs of mental disorder...
(reigned 1568–1618), married her cousin
ElectorThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors....
John Sigismund of
BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. Upon the death of Albert Frederick in 1618, who died without male heirs, John Sigismund was granted the right of succession to the Duchy of Prussia, which was still a Polish fief. From this time the Duchy of Prussia was in
personal unionA personal union is the combination by which two or more different states are governed by the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
with the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The resulting state, known as
Brandenburg-PrussiaBrandenburg-Prussia was a German monarchy established by the personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618.The monarchy was ruled by the branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty that had earlier ruled Brandenburg...
, consisted of geographically disconnected territories in Prussia, Brandenburg, and
RhenishThe Rhineland is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. After the collapse of the French Empire in the early 19th century, the German and Dutch speaking regions at the middle and lower course of the Rhine were annexed to the kingdom of Prussia...
lands of
ClevesThe Duchy of Cleves was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in present Germany and the Netherlands . Its territory was part of the Low Countries, situated on both sides of the river Rhine, around its capital Cleves and roughly covering today's districts of Cleves, Wesel and the city of Duisburg...
and Mark.
Rise to power
During the
Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe...
, the disconnected Hohenzollern lands were repeatedly marched across by various armies, especially the occupying
SwedesSweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or stormaktstiden .-Sweden's emergence into a great power:...
. The ineffective and militarily weak Margrave George William (1619–1640) fled from Berlin to Königsberg, the historic capital of the Duchy of Prussia, in 1637. His successor,
Frederick WilliamFrederick William was the Elector of Brandenburg and the Duke of Prussia from 1640 until his death. He was of the House of Hohenzollern and is popularly known as the Great Elector because of his military and political skill...
(1640–1688), reformed the
armyThe Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable...
to defend the lands.
Frederick William went to
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
in 1641 to render
homageHomage is pronounced variously as , , or . The last reflects the modern French pronunciation, although the word entered Middle English many centuries ago. In traditional usage it is analogous to praise; one properly speaks of homage or the homage, rather than a homage or an homage...
to King Władysław IV Vasa of Poland for the Duchy of Prussia, which was still held in fief from the Polish crown. Later, he managed to obtain a discharge from his obligations as a
vassalA vassal in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a monarch, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief. By...
to the Polish king by taking advantage of the difficult position of Poland vis-á-vis Sweden in the
Northern WarsThe Northern Wars is a name sometimes used for the series of conflicts between Sweden and its adversaries Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , Russia , Brandenburg-Prussia , the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark-Norway...
and his friendly relations with
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
during a series of Russo-Polish wars. He was finally given full sovereignty over Prussia in the
Treaty of WehlauThe Treaty of Wehlau was a treaty signed in the eastern Prussian town of Wehlau between Poland and Brandenburg-Prussia during the Swedish Deluge on September 19, 1657....
in 1657.
Frederick William became known as the "Great Elector" for his introduction of
absolutismThe term Absolutism may refer to:* Absolute idealism, an ontologically monistic philosophy attributed to G.W.F. Hegel. It is Hegel's account of how being is ultimately comprehensible as an all-inclusive whole...
into Brandenburg-Prussia. Above all, he emphasized the importance of a
powerful militaryThe Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable...
to protect the state's disconnected territories.
Kingdom of Prussia
On 18 January 1701, Frederick William's son, Elector Frederick III, upgraded Prussia from a duchy to a kingdom and crowned himself King
Frederick IFrederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union. The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia...
. To avoid offending
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, where a part of the old Prussia lay,
Leopold I| align=right | Leopold I Habsburg , Holy Roman emperor, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, was the second son of the emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margarita of Austria...
, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire where most of the lands of Prussia lay, allowed Frederick only to title himself "
King in PrussiaKing in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia.The Prince-Elector of Brandenburg was a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor. In addition to his electorate which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, he also ruled the...
", not "King
of Prussia".
The state of
Brandenburg-PrussiaBrandenburg-Prussia was a German monarchy established by the personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618.The monarchy was ruled by the branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty that had earlier ruled Brandenburg...
became commonly known as "Prussia", although most of its territory, in Brandenburg, Pomerania, and western Germany, lay outside of Prussia proper. The Prussian state grew in splendour during the reign of Frederick I, who sponsored the arts at the expense of the treasury.
Frederick I was succeeded by his son,
Frederick William IFrederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death. He is popularly known as "the Soldier-King"...
(1713–1740) the austere "Soldier King", who did not care for the arts but was thrifty and practical. He is considered the creator of the vaunted Prussian bureaucracy and the
standing armyA standing army is an army composed of full-time career soldiers who 'stand over', in other words, who do not disband during times of peace. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters. Standing armies tend to be better equipped, better...
, which he developed into one of the most powerful in Europe, although his troops only briefly saw action during the
Great Northern WarThe Great Northern War was a war in which the so-called Northern Alliance composed of Russia, Denmark-Norway, Poland-Lithuania and Saxony engaged Sweden for the supremacy in the Baltic Sea. The war ended with a defeat for Sweden in 1721, leaving Russia as the new major power in the Baltic Sea and...
. In view of the size of the army in relation to the total population,
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
said later: "
Where some states have an army, the Prussian ArmyThe Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable...
has a state!" Also, Frederick William settled more than 20,000 Protestant refugees from
Salzburg' is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its...
in thinly populated eastern Prussia, which was eventually extended to the west bank of the Memel river, and other regions. From Sweden he acquired Western Pomerania as far as the
PeeneThe Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
in 1720.
In 1740, Frederick William was succeeded by his son,
Frederick IIFrederick II was a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, later nicknamed "Frederick the Great". As crown prince he focused on philosophy and the arts; yet, in the first year of his reign he ordered the Prussian army to march into
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
, a possession of Habsburg Austria to which the Hohenzollerns laid claim based on an old and disputed treaty of succession. In the three
Silesian WarsThe Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. They eventually ended with Silesia being incorporated into Prussia, and Austrian recognition of this...
(1740–1763) Frederick succeeded in conquering Silesia from Austria and holding his new possession. In the last, the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War lasted between 1754 and 1763 and involved all of the major European powers of the period. The war pitted Prussia and Britain and a coalition of smaller German states against an alliance consisting of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony...
, he held it against a coalition of Austria, France, and Russia.
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
, a close friend of the king, once described Frederick the Great's Prussia by saying "...it was
SpartaSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars...
in the morning,
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
in the afternoon." From these wars onwards the
German dualismThe term German dualism describes the long conflict between the two largest German states Austria and Prussia from 1740 to 1866 when Austria finally left the German Confederation. It was, in effect, a battle to control the German-speaking peoples...
dominated German politics until 1866.
Silesia, a region of rich soils and prosperous manufacturing towns, greatly increased the area, population, and wealth of Prussia. Success on the battleground against Austria and other powers proved Prussia's status as one of the
great powerA great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess economic, military, diplomatic, and cultural strength, which may cause other smaller nations to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of...
s of Europe. The Silesian Wars began more than a century of rivalry and conflict between Prussia and Austria as the two most powerful states operating within the Holy Roman Empire (although, ironically, both had extensive territory outside the empire). In 1744 the County of
East FrisiaEast Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
fell to Prussia following the extinction of its ruling Cirksena dynasty.
In the last 23 years of his reign until 1786, Frederick II, who understood himself as the "first servant of the state", promoted the development of Prussian areas such as the
OderbruchThe Oderbruch is a region along the river Oder between the towns Oderberg and Bad Freienwalde in the north and Lebus in the south. Its maximum extent from north to south is about 56 km, from east to west about 15 km....
. At the same time he built up Prussia's military power and participated in the First Partition of Poland with Austria and Russia (1772), an act that geographically connected the Brandenburg territories with those of Prussia proper. During this period, he also opened Prussia's borders to immigrants fleeing from religious persecution in other parts of Europe, such as the Huguenots. Prussia became a safe haven in much the same way that the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
welcomed immigrants seeking freedom in the 19th century.
Frederick the Great, the first "King
of Prussia", practised
enlightened absolutismEnlightened absolutism is a form of absolute monarchy or despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories...
. He introduced a general civil code, abolished torture, and established the principle that the crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He also promoted an advanced secondary education, the forerunner of today's German
gymnasiumA gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools...
(grammar school) system, which prepares the brightest students for university studies. The
Prussian education systemThe Prussian education system was a system of mandatory education dating to the early 19th century. Parts of the Prussian education system have served as models for the education systems in a number of other countries, including Japan and the United States....
became emulated in various countries.
Napoleonic Wars
During the reign of King
Frederick William IIFrederick William II was the fourth King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death...
(1786–1797), Prussia annexed additional Polish territory through further
Partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
. His successor,
Frederick William IIIFrederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
(1797–1840), announced the union of the Prussian
LutheranLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the 16th century German reformer Martin Luther. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
and
Reformed churchesThe Reformed churches are a group of Christian Protestant denominations formally characterized by a similar Calvinist system of doctrine, historically related to the churches that first arose especially in the Swiss Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli and soon afterward appeared in nations...
into
one churchThe Prussian Union was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by a series of decrees - among them the Unionsurkunde - by King Frederick William III...
.
Prussia took a leading part in the
French Revolutionary WarsThe French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, but remained quiet for more than a decade due to the
Peace of BaselThe Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France . France made peace with Prussia on 5 April; with Spain on 22 July, ending the War of the Pyrenees; and with Hessen-Kassel on...
of 1795, only to go once more to war with France in 1806 as negotiations with that country over the allocation of the spheres of influence in Germany failed. Prussia suffered a devastating defeat against
Napoleon BonaparteNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
's troops in the
Battle of Jena-AuerstedtThe twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
, leading Frederick William III and his family to flee temporarily to
MemelKlaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea. As Lithuania's only seaport, it has ferry terminal connections to Sweden and Germany...
. Under the
Treaties of TilsitThe Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman...
in 1807, the state lost about half of its area, including the areas gained from the second and third
Partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
, which now fell to the
Duchy of WarsawThe Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
. Beyond that, the king was obliged to make an alliance with France and join the
Continental SystemThe Continental System was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars...
.
In response to this defeat, reformers such as
SteinHeinrich Friedrich Karl Reichsfreiherr vom und zum Stein , commonly known as Baron vom Stein, was a Prussian statesman who introduced reforms that paved the way for the unification of Germany...
and
HardenbergKarl August Fürst von Hardenberg was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia.- Biography :Hardenberg was born at Essenrode near Hanover...
set about modernising the Prussian state. Among their reforms were the liberation of peasants from
serfdomSerfdom is the socio-economic status of unfree peasants under feudalism, and specifically relates to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe...
, the
Emancipation of JewsJewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late eighteenth century and the early twentieth century...
and making full citizens of them]]
, and the institution of self-administration in
municipalitiesA municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council.The notion of municipality...
. The school system was rearranged, and in 1818 free trade was introduced. The process of army reform ended in 1813 with the introduction of compulsory military service.
After the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, Prussia quit its alliance with France and took part in the Sixth Coalition during the "Wars of Liberation" (
Befreiungskriege) against the French occupation. Prussian troops under Marshal
Gebhard Leberecht von BlücherGebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
contributed crucially in the
Battle of WaterlooIn the Battle of Waterloo forces of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Michel Ney were defeated by those of the Seventh Coalition, including an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher...
of 1815 to the final victory over Napoleon. Prussia's reward in 1815 at the
Congress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from November, 1814 to June, 1815. Its objective was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic...
was the recovery of her lost territories, as well as the whole of the
RhinelandThe Rhineland is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. After the collapse of the French Empire in the early 19th century, the German and Dutch speaking regions at the middle and lower course of the Rhine were annexed to the kingdom of Prussia...
,
WestphaliaWestphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Detmold, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Minden and Münster and included in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia....
, and some other territories. These western lands were to be of vital importance because they included the
Ruhr AreaThe Ruhr is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
, the centre of Germany's fledgling
industrialisationIndustrialisation is the process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a pre-industrial society into an industrial one...
, especially in the arms industry. These territorial gains also meant the doubling of Prussia's population. In exchange, Prussia withdrew from areas of central Poland to allow the creation of
Congress PolandCongress Poland , officially and formally Kingdom of Poland and informally known as Russian Poland was a constitutional personal union of the Russian Empire created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, replaced by the Central Powers in 1915 with the Kingdom of Poland...
under Russian sovereignty.
Prussia emerged from the
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
as the dominant power in Germany, overshadowing her long-time rival Austria, which had given up the imperial crown in 1806. In 1815 Prussia became part of the
German ConfederationThe German Confederation was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had been abolished in 1806. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists occurred in an attempt to...
.
The first half of the 19th century saw a prolonged struggle in Germany between
liberalsLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
, who wanted a united, federal Germany under a democratic constitution, and
conservativesConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
, who wanted to maintain Germany as a patchwork of independent, monarchical states, with Prussia and Austria competing for influence. One small movement that signaled a desire for German unification in this period was the
BurschenschaftGerman Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-Beginnings 1815- c...
student movement, by students who encouraged the use of the black-red-gold flag, discussions of a unified German nation, and a progressive, liberal political system. Because of Prussia's size and economic importance, smaller states began to join its free trade area in the 1820s. Prussia benefited greatly from the creation in 1834 of the German Customs Union (
Zollvereinthumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919
blue = in 1834
green= Included region until 1866
yellow= Excluded after 1866
red = Borders of the German Union of 1828
pink= Relevant others until 1834...
), which included most German states but excluded Austria.
In 1848 the liberals saw an opportunity when
revolutions broke out across EuropeThe European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout the European continent...
. Alarmed, King
Frederick William IVKing Frederick William IV of Prussia , the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861...
agreed to convene a National Assembly and grant a constitution. When the
Frankfurt ParliamentThe Frankfurt Parliament was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany. It was in session from 18 May 1848 until 31 May 1849 in the Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main...
offered Frederick William the crown of a united Germany, he refused on the grounds that he would not accept a crown from a revolutionary assembly without the sanction of Germany's other monarchs.
The Frankfurt Parliament was forced to dissolve in 1849, and Frederick William issued
Prussia's first constitutionThe Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia was adopted in 1850 and amended in the following years. This constitution was far less liberal than the federal constitution of the German Empire....
by his own authority in 1850. This conservative document provided for a two-house parliament. The lower house, or
LandtagA Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.The German word "Landtag" is composed of the words Land which names a political entity comparable to a federal state and the word Tag...
was elected by all taxpayers, who were divided into
three classesAfter the 1848 revolutions in the German states, the Prussian three-class franchise system was introduced in 1849 by the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV for the election of the Lower House of the Prussian state parliament. It was completely abolished only in 1918...
whose votes were weighted according to the amount of taxes paid. Women and those who paid no taxes had no vote. This allowed just over one-third of the voters to choose 85% of the legislature, all but assuring dominance by the more well-to-do men of the population. The upper house, which was later renamed the
HerrenhausThe German term Herrenhaus is equivalent to the English House of Lords and describes roughly similar institutions as the English House of Lords in German-speaking countries.More specifically, Herrenhaus, can refer to either of the following:...
("House of Lords"), was appointed by the king. He retained full executive authority and ministers were responsible only to him. As a result, the grip of the landowning classes, the
JunkerA Junker was a member of the landed nobility of Prussia and eastern Germany. These families were mostly part of the German Uradel and carried on the colonization and Christianization of the northeastern European territories during the medieval Ostsiedlung. Today "Junker" is often used as an...
s, remained unbroken, especially in the eastern provinces.
Wars of unification
In 1862 King
William IWilhelm I, also known as Wilhelm the Great of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor ....
appointed
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
as
Prime Minister of PrussiaThe office of Minister President or Prime Minister of Prussia existed in one form or another from 1792 until the dissolution of Prussia in 1947. When Prussia was an independent kingdom the Minister President or Prime Minister functioned as the King's Chief Minister and presided over the Prussian...
. Bismarck was determined to defeat both the liberals and conservatives and increase Prussian supremacy and influence among the German states. There has been much debate as to whether Bismarck actually planned to create a united Germany when he set out on this journey, or whether he simply took advantage of the circumstances that fell into place. Certainly his memoirs paint a rosy picture of an idealist, but these were written with the benefit of hindsight. What is clear is that Bismarck curried support from large sections of the people by promising to lead the fight for greater German unification. He eventually guided Prussia through three wars which together brought William the position of German Emperor.
Schleswig Wars
The Kingdom of
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
was at the time in personal union with the Duchies of
SchleswigSchleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark...
and
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
, both of which had close ties with each other, although only Holstein was part of the
German ConfederationThe German Confederation was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had been abolished in 1806. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists occurred in an attempt to...
. When the Danish government tried to integrate Schleswig, but not Holstein, into the Danish state, Prussia led the German Confederation against Denmark in the
First War of SchleswigThe First Schleswig War or Three Years' War was the first round of military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The war, which lasted from 1848–1851,...
(1848–1851). Because
RussiaThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
supported Austria, Prussia also conceded predominance in the German Confederation to Austria in the
Punctation of OlmützThe Punctation of Olmütz , also called the Agreement of Olmütz, was a treaty between Prussia and Austria, dated 29 November 1850, by which Prussia abandoned the Erfurt Union and accepted the revival of the German Confederation under Austrian leadership....
in 1850.
In 1863, Denmark introduced a shared constitution for Denmark and Schleswig. This led to conflict with the German Confederation, which authorized the occupation of Holstein by the Confederation, from which Danish forces withdrew. In 1864, Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the border between Holstein and Schleswig initiating the
Second War of SchleswigThe Second Schleswig War was the second military conflict as a result of the Schleswig-Holstein Question. It began on February 1, 1864, when Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig.Denmark fought Prussia and Austria...
. The Austro-Prussian forces defeated the Danes, who surrendered both territories. In the resulting
Gastein ConventionIn diplomacy, the Gastein Convention, a treaty signed at Bad Gastein in Austria on August 14, 1865, embodied agreements between the two principal powers of the German Confederation, Prussia and Austria, over the governing of the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein...
of 1865 Prussia took over the administration of Schleswig while Austria assumed that of Holstein.
Austro-Prussian War
Bismarck realized that the dual administration of Schleswig and Holstein was only a temporary solution, and tensions escalated between Prussia and Austria. The struggle for supremacy in Germany then led to the
Austro-Prussian WarThe Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the other, that...
(1866), triggered by the dispute over Schleswig and Holstein.
On the side of Austria stood the southern German states (including
BavariaThe Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806–1918. Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
and
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
), some central German states (including
SaxonyThe Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
), and
HanoverThe Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era...
in the north; on the side of Prussia were
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, most northern German states, and some smaller central German states. Eventually, the better-armed Prussian troops won the crucial victory at the
battle of KöniggrätzThe Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
under
Helmuth von Moltke the ElderHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 1800s, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
. The century-long struggle between Berlin and Vienna for dominance of Germany was now over.
Bismarck desired Austria as an ally in the future, and so he declined to annex any Austrian territory. But in the
Peace of PragueThe Peace of Prague was a peace treaty signed at Prague on 23 August, 1866, which ended the Austro-Prussian War. The treaty was lenient toward the Austrian Empire due to the fact that Otto von Bismarck had persuaded William I that maintaining Austria's place in Europe would be better in the future...
in 1866, Prussia annexed four of Austria's allies in northern and central Germany—Hanover,
Hesse-KasselThe Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a reichsfreie principality of the Holy Roman Empire that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
(or Hesse-Cassel), Nassau and
FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001...
. Prussia also won full control of
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
. As a result of these territorial gains, Prussia now stretched uninterrupted across the northern two-thirds of Germany and contained two-thirds of Germany's population. The German Confederation was dissolved, and Prussia cajoled the 21 states north of the
MainThe Main is a river in Germany, 524 km long , and it is one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine. The Main flows through the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse...
River into forming the
North German ConfederationThe North German Confederation , came into existence in August 1866 as a military alliance of 22 states of northern Germany with the Kingdom of Prussia as the leading state. In July 1867 it was transformed into a federal state...
.
Prussia was the dominant state in the new confederation, as the kingdom comprised almost four-fifths of the new state's territory and population. Prussia's near-total control over the confederation was cemented in the constitution drafted for it by Bismarck in 1867. Executive power was held by a president, assisted by a chancellor responsible only to him. The presidency was a hereditary office of the
HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
rulers of Prussia. There was also a two-house parliament. The lower house, or
ReichstagThe Reichstag was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently of the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945...
(Diet), was elected by universal male
suffrageSuffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. It is also called political franchise or simply the franchise. Suffrage may apply to elections, but also extends to initiatives and referendums...
. The upper house, or
BundesratBundesrat means federal council and may refer to:* Bundesrat of Germany* Federal Council of Austria* Swiss Federal Council...
(Federal Council) was appointed by the state governments. The Bundesrat was, in practice, the stronger chamber. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes, and could easily control proceedings through alliances with the other states.
As a result of the peace negotiations, the states south of the Main remained theoretically independent, but received the (compulsory) protection of Prussia. Additionally, mutual defense treaties were concluded. (See also "
Das Lied der DeutschenDas Deutschlandlied
[p] has been used wholly or partially as the national anthem of Germany since 1922. The music was written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 as an anthem for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire...
".) However, the existence of these treaties was kept secret until Bismarck made them public in 1867, when France tried to acquire Luxembourg.
Franco-Prussian War
The controversy with the
Second French EmpireThe Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
over the candidacy of a
HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
to the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
throne was escalated both by France and Bismarck. With his
Ems DispatchThe Ems Dispatch , sometimes called the Ems Telegram, was used by France as a pretext to declare the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870. The actual dispatch was an internal message from the Prussian King's vacationing site to Bismarck in Berlin, reporting about demands made by the French ambassador,...
, Bismarck took advantage of an incident in which the French ambassador had approached William. The government of
Napoleon IIINapoleon III , Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was the first President of the French Republic and the last monarch of France. He was also Napoleon I's nephew. Made president by popular vote in 1848, Napoleon III ascended to the throne on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon...
, expecting another civil war among the German states, declared war against Prussia, continuing Franco-German enmity. Honouring their treaties, the German states joined forces and quickly defeated France in the
Franco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between France and Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria...
in 1870. Following victory under Bismarck's and Prussia's leadership,
BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
,
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, and
BavariaThe Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806–1918. Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
— which had remained outside the North German Confederation — accepted incorporation into a united
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
.
The empire was a "
Kleindeutsche LösungThe Kleindeutsche Lösung was a 19th century political idea postulating the idea of a unified Germany consisting of the members of the German Confederation, led by Hohenzollern Prussia, but excluding the Austrian Empire which was united with Hungary as the Dual Monarchy and not willing to separate...
" or a "Lesser German Solution" to the problem of German unity, because it excluded Austria, which remained connected to
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
and further non-German population. On 18 January 1871 (the 170th anniversary of the coronation of King
Frederick IFrederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union. The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia...
), William was proclaimed "German
EmperorKaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the name of Julius Caesar...
" (not "Emperor of Germany") in the
Hall of MirrorsThe Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles, the Île-de-France region of France. In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles....
at
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
outside
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, while the French capital was still under
siegeThe Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, brought about French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and led to the establishment of the German Empire.-Background:...
.
German Empire
The two decades after the
unification of GermanyThe formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of...
were the peak of Prussia's fortunes, but the seeds for potential strife were built into the Prusso-German political system.
The constitution of the German Empire was a slightly amended version of the North German Confederation's constitution. Officially, the German Empire was a federal state. In practice, Prussia's dominance over the empire was almost absolute. The Hohenzollern kingdom included three-fifths of its territory and two-thirds of its population. The
Imperial German ArmyThe German Army was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Empire, also known as the Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
was, in practice, an enlarged Prussian army, although the other kingdoms (
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
,
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
, and
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
) retained their own armies. The imperial crown was a hereditary office of the
House of HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
, the royal house of Prussia. The prime minister of Prussia was, except for two brief periods (January–November 1873 and 1892–94), also imperial chancellor. While all men above age 25 were eligible to vote in imperial elections, Prussia retained its restrictive three-class voting system. This effectively required the king/emperor and prime minister/chancellor to seek majorities from legislatures elected by two completely different franchises. In both the kingdom and the empire, the original constituencies were never redrawn to reflect changes in population, meaning that rural areas were grossly overrepresented by the turn of the century.
As a result, Prussia and the German Empire were something of a paradox. Bismarck knew that his new German Reich was now a colossus out of all proportion to the rest of the continent. With this in mind, he declared Germany a satisfied power, using his talents to preserve peace, for example at the
Congress of BerlinThe Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
. Bismarck had mixed success in his domestic policies, such as the anti-Catholic
KulturkampfThe German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck....
and
GermanizationAfter partitioning Poland in the end of 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia and later German Empire imposed a number of Germanisation policies and measures in the newly gained territories, aimed at limiting the Polish ethnic presence in these areas...
or
expulsionThe partitions of Poland had ended the existence of a sovereign Polish state in the 18th century. With the rise of German nationalism in the late 19th century, Poles faced increasing discrimination. The first deportation of 30,000 Poles from the German Empire took place in 1885...
of Poles of foreign nationality (Russian or Austro-Hungarian).
Frederick IIIFrederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888 during the Year of the Three Emperors...
may have had the potential to be a leader in Bismarck's mold, but he was already terminally ill when he became emperor for 99 days in 1888 upon the death of his father. He was married to
VictoriaThe Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child and daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor...
, the first daughter of
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, but their first son William suffered physical and possibly mental damage during birth.
At age 29, William became
Emperor William IIWilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia , ruling both the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918....
after a difficult youth and conflicts with his British mother. He turned out to be a man of limited experience, narrow and reactionary views, poor judgment, and occasional bad temper, which alienated former friends and allies. William, who was a close relative of the
BritishThe House of Windsor is the current Royal House of the United Kingdom and each of the other Commonwealth realms. It is a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , which adopted the name Windsor by a royal proclamation of George V in 1917...
and
RussianThe House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia, which ruled the country from 1613 to 1917. From 1762 until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian Empire was ruled for five generations by a line of the House of Oldenburg descended from the marriage of a Romanov grand...
royal families, became their rival and ultimately their enemy.
After forcing Bismarck out in 1890, William embarked on a program of militarisation and adventurism in foreign policy that eventually placed Germany in isolation. A misjudgment of the conflict with
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
by the emperor, who left for holidays, and the hasty mobilisation plans of several nations led to the disaster of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
(1914–1918). As the price of their withdrawal from the war, the Bolsheviks conceded large regions of the western
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, some of which bordered Prussia, to German control in the
Treaty of Brest-LitovskThe Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk between the Russian SFSR and the Central Powers, marking Russia's exit from World War I....
(1918). German control of these territories lasted only for a few months, however, because of the defeat of German military forces by the western
AlliesThe Entente powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. New Zealand, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Italy, Romania and the United States were also drawn into the war...
and the
German RevolutionThe German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I. The period lasted from November 1918 until the formal establishment of the Weimar Republic in August 1919....
. The post-war
Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, which held Germany and her allies solely responsible for the war, was signed in Versailles' Hall of Mirrors, where the German Empire had been created.
Free State of Prussia in the Weimar Republic
Because of the
German RevolutionThe German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I. The period lasted from November 1918 until the formal establishment of the Weimar Republic in August 1919....
of 1918, William II abdicated as German Emperor and King of Prussia. Prussia was proclaimed a "Free State" (i.e. a
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
, German:
Freistaat) within the new
Weimar RepublicThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government, named after Weimar, the place where the constitutional assembly took place. Its official name was still Deutsches Reich , however...
and in 1920 received a democratic constitution.
All of Germany's territorial losses, specified in the
Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, were areas that had been part of Prussia:
Alsace-LorraineAlsace-Lorraine was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 after the annexation of most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and on the east of the Vosges Mountains...
to France;
EupenEupen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 km from the German border , from the Dutch border and from the nature reservation "High Fens" . The town is also the capital of the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine....
and
MalmedyMalmedy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. It belongs to the French Community of Belgium. On January 1, 2006 Malmedy had a total population of 11,829...
to
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
;
North SchleswigSouth Jutland County is a former county on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark....
to Denmark; the
Memel TerritoryThe Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...
to Lithuania; the Hultschin area to
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Many of the areas which Prussia had annexed in the
partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
, such as the Provinces of
PosenThe Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
and
West PrussiaWest Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
, as well as eastern
Upper SilesiaUpper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Lower Silesia is to the northwest. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, Bohemia, Poland, Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Prussia, and later of unified German Reich...
, went to the
Second Polish RepublicThe Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; from the creation of an independent Polish state in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic,...
.
DanzigGdańsk, also known by its German name Danzig , is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area....
became the
Free City of DanzigThe Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous, Baltic Sea port and city-state that was created on 10 January 1920, against the wishes of the local population but in accordance with the terms of Part III, Section XI of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919...
under the administration of the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members...
. Also, the Saargebiet was created mainly from formerly Prussian territories.
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
became an exclave, only reachable by ship ("shipping service East Prussia") or by a railway through the
Polish corridorThe Polish Corridor was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from her province of East Prussia...
.
The German government seriously considered breaking up Prussia into smaller states, but eventually traditionalist sentiment prevailed and Prussia became by far the largest state of the
Weimar RepublicThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government, named after Weimar, the place where the constitutional assembly took place. Its official name was still Deutsches Reich , however...
, comprising 60% of its territory. With the abolition of the older Prussian franchise, it became a stronghold of the left. Its incorporation of "Red Berlin" and the industrialised Ruhr Area — both with working-class majorities — ensured left-wing dominance.
From 1919 to 1932, Prussia was governed by a coalition of the
Social DemocratsThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
,
Catholic CentreThe German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic...
, and
German DemocratsThe German Democratic Party, or , was founded by leaders of the former Progressive People's Party and the left wing of the National Liberal Party in the early days of the Weimar Republic...
; from 1921 to 1925, coalition governments included the
German People's PartyThe German People's Party was a liberal-nationalist party in Germany.It was essentially the right wing of the old National Liberal Party, and was formed in the early days of the Weimar Republic, led by Gustav Stresemann....
. Unlike in other states of the German Reich, majority rule by democratic parties in Prussia was never endangered. Nevertheless, in
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
and some industrial areas, the
National Socialist German Workers PartyThe National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party , was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945...
(or Nazi Party) of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
gained more and more influence and popular support, especially from the lower
middle classThe middle class are any class in the middle of a social schema. In Weberian socio-economic terms they are the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socioeconomically between the working class and upper class. In Marxist terms, middle class commonly refers to either the...
. Except for
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
Prussian
Upper SilesiaUpper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Lower Silesia is to the northwest. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, Bohemia, Poland, Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Prussia, and later of unified German Reich...
, the Nazi Party in 1932 became the largest party in most parts of the Free State of Prussia. However, the democratic parties in coalition remained a majority, while Communists and Nazis were in the opposition.
The East Prussian
Otto BraunThis article is about the Prime Minister of Prussia. For the German Communist and once the Comintern military adviser to the Chinese Commmunist revolution see Otto Braun ....
, who was Prussian minister-president almost continuously from 1920 to 1932, is considered one of the most capable Social Democrats in history. He implemented several trend-setting reforms together with his minister of the interior,
Carl SeveringCarl Wilhelm Severing was a German Social Democrat politician during the Weimar era.He was Interior Minister of Prussia from 1920 to 1926, Minister of the Interior from 1928 to 1930 and Interior Minister of Prussia again from 1930 to 1932...
, which were also models for the later
Federal Republic of GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
(FRG). For instance, a Prussian minister-president could be forced out of office only if there was a "positive majority" for a potential successor. This concept, known as the
constructive vote of no confidenceThe constructive vote of no confidence is a variation on the motion of no confidence which only allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if there is a positive majority for a prospective successor...
, was carried over into the
Basic LawThe term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution", implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment of constitution. A Basic Law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law given to have constitution...
of the FRG. Most historians regard the Prussian government during this time as far more successful than that of Germany as a whole.
In contrast to its prewar authoritarianism, Prussia was a pillar of democracy in the Weimar Republic. This system was destroyed by the
PreußenschlagThe Preußenschlag, or "Prussian coup", was one of the major steps towards the destruction of the German Weimar Republic and the rise of Adolf Hitler to power...
("Prussian coup") of Reich Chancellor
Franz von Papen' was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933-1934...
. In this coup d'état, the government of the Reich unseated the Prussian government on 20 July 1932, under the pretext that the latter had lost control of public order in Prussia (during the Bloody Sunday of
Altona, HamburgAltona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937. In 2006 the population was 243,972.- History :It was founded...
, which was still part of Prussia at that time). Papen appointed himself Reich commissioner for Prussia and took control of the government. The
Preußenschlag made it easier, only half a year later, for
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
to take power decisively in Germany, since he had the whole apparatus of the Prussian government, including the police, at his disposal.
End of Prussia
After the appointment of Hitler as the new chancellor, the
NazisNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
used the opportunity of the absence of Franz von Papen to appoint
Hermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi Party. Among many offices, he was Hitler's designated successor and commander of the Luftwaffe...
federal commissioner for the Prussian ministry of the interior. The
Reichstag electionThe German federal election, March 1933 in the Weimar Republic was held on 5 March 1933, and was the last genuine election to be held in Germany before World War II...
of March 5, 1933 strengthened the position of the
National Socialist PartyThe National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party , was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945...
, although they did not achieve an absolute majority.
Because the
Reichstag buildingThe Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire supposedly set by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, who was later beheaded for the crime....
had been
set on fireThe Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany....
a few weeks earlier, the new
ReichstagThe Reichstag was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently of the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945...
was opened in the Garrison Church of
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and is part of the Metropolitan area of Berlin/Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, some 25 kilometres southwest of the centre of Berlin....
on March 21, 1933 in the presence of President
Paul von HindenburgPaul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a German field marshal and statesman....
. In a propaganda-filled meeting between Hitler and the Nazi Party, the "marriage of old Prussia with young Germany" was celebrated, to win over the Prussian monarchists, conservatives, and nationalists and induce them to vote for the Enabling Act of 1933.
In the centralised state created by the Nazis in the "Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich" ("Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reiches", 30 January 1934) and the "Law on Reich Governors" ("Reichsstatthaltergesetz", 30 January 1935) the states were dissolved, in fact if not in law. The federal state governments were now controlled by governors for the Reich who were appointed by the chancellor. Parallel to that, the organisation of the party into districts (
GaueA Gau is a German term for a region within a country, often a former or actual province. It was used in medieval times, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire, and was revived as an administrative subdivision during the period of Nazi rule in Germany.-The Gau in the...
) gained increasing importance, as the official in charge of a
Gau (the head of which was called a
GauleiterA Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Etymology:...
) was again appointed by the chancellor who was at the same time chief of the Nazi Party.
In Prussia, this anti-federalistic policy went even further. From 1934 almost all ministries were merged and only a few departments were able to maintain their independence. Hitler himself became formally the governor of Prussia. His functions were exercised, however, by
Hermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi Party. Among many offices, he was Hitler's designated successor and commander of the Luftwaffe...
, as Prussian prime minister.
As provided for in the "Greater Hamburg Law" ("Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz"), certain exchanges of territory took place. Prussia was extended on 1 April 1937, for instance, by the incorporation of the Free and Hanseatic City of
LübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage is on UNESCO's list of World...
.
The Prussian lands transferred to Poland after the Treaty of Versailles were re-annexed during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. However, most of this territory was not reintegrated back into Prussia but assigned to separate
Gaue of Danzig-West Prussia and Wartheland.
With the end of National Socialist rule in 1945 came the division of Germany into Zones of Occupation, and the transfer of control of everything east of the
Oder-Neisse lineThe Oder-Neisse line was drawn in the aftermath of World War II as the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Poland. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
, (including
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
,
Farther PomeraniaFarther Pomerania, Further Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
, Eastern Brandenburg, and southern
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
), to Poland, with the northern third of East Prussia, including Königsberg, now
KaliningradKaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, going to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. Today the
Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast , informally called Yantarny kray is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. Population: 968,200 ; ....
is a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland. During the Soviet Army's takeover of eastern Germany an estimated ten million Germans fled, were
expelledBy the end of World War II, most of the German population fled or was expelled from areas outside the territory of post-war Germany and post-war Austria, including:...
from (or were not able to return) to these territories as part of the
Potsdam AgreementThe Potsdam Agreement was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945...
and the sanctioned
German exodus from Eastern EuropeThe German exodus from Eastern Europe describes the dramatic reduction of ethnic German populations in lands to the east of present-day Germany and Austria. The exodus began in the aftermath of World War I and was implicated in the rise of Nazism. It culminated in expulsions of Germans from...
.
As part of their war aims the Western allies sought the abolition of Prussia due to the belief that 'Prussiandom' was synonmous with authoritarianism and militarism, a view based on a selective reading of Prussian history; Stalin was initially content to retain the name, Russia having a different historical view of its neighbour and sometime former ally. In Law #46 of 20 May 1947 the
Allied Control CouncilThe Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
formally proclaimed the dissolution of Prussia.
In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, which became East Germany in 1949, the former Prussian territories were reorganised into the states of
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and
Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt is one of the sixteen Bundesländer that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of , and a population of 2.45 million...
, with the remaining parts of the
Province of PomeraniaThe Province of Pomerania was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 until 1946. Since then it has been part of Germany and Poland....
going to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. These states were abolished in 1952 in favour of districts, but were recreated after the fall of communism in 1990.
In the Western Zones of occupation, which became
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
in 1949, the former Prussian territories were divided up among
North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the westernmost and—in terms of population and economic output—the largest Federal State of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia has over 18 million inhabitants, contributes about 22% of Germany's gross domestic product and comprises a land area of 34,083 km²...
,
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer of Germany...
,
HesseHesse is a state of Germany with an area of and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main.Hesse contributes the largest share to the Rhine Main Area....
,
Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 federal states of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz....
, and
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
.
Württemberg-BadenWürttemberg-Baden is a former state of Federal Republic of Germany. It was created in 1945 by the U.S. occupation forces, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been split up between the US and French occupation zones. Its capital was Stuttgart...
and
Württemberg-HohenzollernWürttemberg-Hohenzollern is a historical state of West Germany. It was created in 1945 as part of the French occupation zone. Its capital was Tübingen. In 1952, it was merged into the newly founded state of Baden-Württemberg.-History:...
were later merged with
BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
to create the state of
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River...
.
Since the dissolution of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, a small number of ethnic Germans from
KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country situated in Eurasia that is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the world's largest landlocked country. Its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe...
have begun to settle in the
KaliningradKaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
exclave of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, once northern East Prussia, as part of the migration influx into the area, which was previously a restricted area (closed city). As of 2005, about 6,000 (0.6% of population) ethnic Germans, mostly from other parts of Russia, live there.
After
German reunificationGerman reunification is the process in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and Berlin was united into a single city-state. The start of this process is commonly referred to by former citizens of the GDR as die Wende...
in 1990, a plan was developed to merge the States of Berlin and Brandenburg. Though some suggested calling the proposed new state "Prussia", no final name was proposed, and the combined state would probably have been called either "Brandenburg" or "Berlin-Brandenburg". However this proposed merger was rejected in 1996 by popular vote, achieving a majority of votes only in former
West BerlinWest Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945. It was in many ways integrated with, although legally not a part of, West Germany...
.
External links